To ask for opinions on ‘medicalised’vs ‘natural’ birth?

[birdonawire1]

Read so many stories of mismanaged births, CTG not read correctly, babies not monitored and damaged and then read romanticised stories all about the perfect ‘natural’ birth.

It seems very polarised so what do people think really?

Get the baby out safely. How doesn't matter. There is no perfect birth.

I had a planned CS. Perfect, very well taken care of. The thought of a vaginal birth makes me feel sick (I do have tokophobia though)

There's no 'general', one-size-fits-all birth -- you have your specific body, your specific baby, your specific medical and psychological issues, your specific wishes and preferences, and of course what's available locally.

I'd planned a water birth in the MLU, but ended up having a CS, which was actually a rather nice, calm experience, and, had it not been for the resources of modern medicine, DS and I would both have died, so it left me feeling pretty positive about 'medicalised' births.

Everyone would like the perfect birth but needs must. My first was a c-section due to breech baby and second was forceps in theatre because baby was back to back. With hindsight I wish I'd opted for a second c-section but at the time I wanted a vbac.

I had two elective cesareans. I've never even felt a contraction and, to me, both of my births were perfect and I could not have asked for anything better.

Most of us would fare better left alone at home a proportion would have seriously awful outcomes. Finding those and keeping them safe without creating an unnecessary difficult time for the others is hard. If women had better birth experiences whatever their birth, if they were informed and listened to and care was resources with money and support then we would have women with better experiences and fewer polarised debates, reduced depression and less grief all round.

An ELCS was my perfect birth.

Childbirth is still the biggest killer of women world wide. 'Medicalised' every time.

@Bobbiepi is correct, so long as the baby comes out safely, that is the main aim.

I have had different births - the quality of care made such a difference to my CS and vaginal birth

In reality these things are less polarised than ppl want you to think. You can have a natural birth in a hospital, you can end up in surgery after giving birth at home, you are likely to have some pain relief and the baby coming out as and when they do. 'Medicalised' is such a goady term.

I've had CS which was nice and calm and a natural birth which ended up with tearing but was ultimately ok. You're dealing with two human bodies at a very important moment, it's stupid to pretend there might not be a need for medical help

DD was in no hurry to be born so was induced at 41+6. Induction may have started the cascade of medical intervention that followed and ended up with her having to be given oxygen as she was't breathing when born but this was more likely due to the fact that her head circumference was off the chart so she was always going to get stuck in a vaginal birth. Did I want a birth like that? No? Am I extraordinarily grateful DD is alive? Yes.

I think go with an open mind and hope for the best and for the baby to be born safely.
I had natural births twice in a hospital environment, in my opinion this was best as I was scared of giving birth, was an older mum and wanted the security of hospital equipment and specialists quickly to hand should the need have arisen. I was fortunate and I labored in the birthing pool both times which was a welcome relief as easy to get into a comfortable position
A friend due the same time had a very detailed birthing plan and an idealised vision of a natural child birth but she had an horrendous Labour so had to have medical intervention which completely spoilt the experience for her so much so that she felt like a failure.
I would recommend agreeing to having a student midwife as the one I had with my first was very thorough and absolutely lovely.

ELCS such a wonderful birth. Loved it.

Baby born with no lasting effects on mother or baby.
My first was stillborn at least partly due to midwives not taking my concerns seriously so I opted for a very medicalised, very consultant involved, 2nd pregnancy and birth.

You can plan all you want, but circumstances take over. I was told to opt for a home birth rather than mlu for my 2nd. The MLU was 15 miles away and my house is 5 minutes from the hospital. My MW told me I'd be safer at home closer to the hospital if anything went wrong as they would blue light me in, but in the MLU I would be amber priority (within 4 hours) for an ambulance, as I'd be classed as "in hospital"
In the end I was two weeks overdue and had to be induced in hospital so my plans came to nothing.

Apart from a healthy 9lb baby boy of course

As a midwife I'd say research as much as you can on birth, read positive birth books and consider hypnobirthing. Be prepared that interventions might occur - but if you know why, it might make it a more positive experience.

All 3 of my births were great experiences - homebirth, no tears, physiological third stage, baby skin to skin instantly so for me that was perfect.

With my first I was determined it was all going to be as natural as possible, squatting, no pain relief etc. Then at 39 weeks my blood pressure shot up and my waters broke without contraction starting. Ended up on an oxytocin drip, epidural and forceps delivery. With the 2nd I was just "give me the epidural" but he came so fast there was no time or need for pain relief.

While there are some things you can do to minimise your chances of a complicated birth, it's mostly down luck. Out of both of mine I would choose the VB over EMCS every time, however with my VB DS2 was round the right way and 1lb smaller than DS1.

Your 3 year old child won't care how they were born. They will care that mum is still fit and healthy. Whatever gets mum and baby home safely is best.

"so long as the baby comes out safely, that is the main aim."

ideally the mother should be ok as well...

Read the whole fucking post

Wrong thread

Whatever is the best solution for the situation in hand. And what popehilarious says about things often being less polarised in real life is spot on.

My vaginal-mainly-without-pain-relief birth was also an induction. So was it medicalised or not medicalised?

Again, my caesarean was very calm and relaxed, skin to skin etc.

For me my perfect birth is a home birth. But for others that isn't what they want or isn't possible. I think you can plan your perfect birth but need to be flexible to change if needs be.